In the treatment of various medical conditions, it is sometimes beneficial to apply an extremely cold temperature at one or more selected, isolated locations in or near an organ in the patient's body. As an example, it can be beneficial in the treatment of cardiac arrhythmia to apply cryosurgical temperatures at selected locations in the patient's heart, to create localized areas of necrotic tissue. Similarly, it can be beneficial to apply extremely cold temperatures at selected locations in other organs, or in a vascular system of the patient. The application of extremely cold temperatures can be achieved by inserting a flexible cryosurgical catheter through a vascular system to the desired location. The flexible catheter can have a heat transfer element at or near its distal end. The heat transfer element can be cooled to a cryosurgical temperature and placed in contact with a selected area of biological tissue.
The application of cold temperatures can be further enhanced by an apparatus with the ability to flex the tip of the cryosurgical catheter in a desired direction, to assist in guiding the catheter through a tortuous path to the selected location in or near a selected organ, or in a vascular system. Tissue targets within the body may be reached more easily if the catheter is made more flexible, and if the tip can deflect over a greater angle.
In light of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cryocatheter with a deflectable tip having sufficient flexibility to precisely position the tip within the vasculature of a patient in accordance with the procedural requirements of a selected surgical application. Another object of the present invention is to provide a cryocatheter with a deflectable tip that is relatively easy to manufacture, is simple to use and is comparatively cost effective.